Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing. All the credit goes to Stephenie Meyer!
Author's note:
Ok guys, I was going to wait until I got at least 10 reviews before I posted the next chapter, but I decided that I couldn't wait until then. So here is the next chapter in the Bella / Melissa saga, this chapter maybe a little slow but it is necessary to understand the background of the characters otherwise you will get really confused later. Thanks for reading!!!
Lots of love from,
Librarian2be
Switching Lives:
Ch. 2- Studying for the Ultimate Test
By: Librarian2be
Bella's POV:
"Hi! My name is Bella Swan. What's your name?" I asked as I stared in wonder at a girl who looked so much like me it was scary. The 2 seconds it took her to answer felt like 2 hours. My mind was racing at about a million thoughts a second. Very quickly I went from this sense of wonder to a sense of jealously. She was my exact replica, yet some how beautiful while I was plain. The very things which made me plain worked on her and made her gorgeous. Her life is probably perfect with a great family, friends, and boyfriend.
"My name is Melissa Dawn. This is really, really weird!" she stammered. "You know…If we are going to do this, we better learn everything about each other before we switch. Otherwise our friends and family will realize that we are not our selves. I'll get us a hotel room with the emergency credit card my dad gave me and all we'll have to do is make arrangements to stay another day or so. That will give us enough time to get to know each other." she said in a frenzied rush.
This will be so easy all I have to do is tell Charlie that I forgot something at home and that I will meet him in Forks in a couple of days. I wonder if we will be able to pull this off.
"Ok, we'll both go home to make the arrangements. Then I will meet you at the Hilton about 10 p.m." I said as I patted my wet hair and clothes with paper towels. I needed to look somewhat presentable before I got back to the hotel to talk to Charlie. "See you in a couple of hours!" and with that I walked out the bathroom, through the steakhouse, and into the warm, humid night to hail a cab.
Melissa's POV:
I watched as the most gorgeous, angelic version of myself walked out of the bathroom. Could this really be happening? Was I finally going to get away from my horrible life? Her life is probably so perfect. She probably has a great family, great friends, and a fabulous boyfriend.
Before I followed Bella out into the steakhouse, I splashed some warm water onto my face to make it splotchy and pretended to cry. I stomped out of the bathroom and up to the table where my father sat sipping wine and laughing with Suzanne as if the fight with me never even happened.
"I hate you! I can't believe that mom made me come visit you. She said that it would be good for me to spend time with you! Oh no, she was wrong. I won't bother you two with my presence any longer. I'm spending the last night here at a hotel, and then I'll take a cab to the airport tomorrow that way you won't have to bother with taking be." I practically shouted.
"I don't care what you do! As long as you call your mother and tell her what's going on you could do what ever you want." He calmly said with a fake smile plastered on his face.
"Fine!" I screamed and ran out of the steakhouse into the warm, humid night. I hailed a cab and, "To the Hilton." I commanded the driver when he asked where to. On the ride to the hotel, I whipped out my phone and dialed the all too familiar phone number. 1-555-707-7079. I listened to the phone ring over and over again while trying to calm myself so that mom didn't realize that something was up. After 7 rings, she finally picked up.
"Hey Melissa sweetie, how is your trip going?" she asked in a voice so tender that it made me realize as much as I wanted to get away, I was going to miss my mother so much. But this was my chance and I couldn't pass it up.
I put on a fake happy voice hoping that she could not tell I was lying and said, "Hey mom, Dad, Suzanne, and I are having sooooo much fun! We decided that I was going to stay another couple of days. So I will come home Sunday. Is that ok?"
"Sure honey, I'm glad you're having a good time! I will see you Sunday" she sad with a hint of sadness in her voice. I could tell she was worried that I was going to like Suzanne more than her.
"Bye mom! I miss you and I really love you. You know that right?" I said to reassure to her that no one could ever take her place in my life.
"Yeah baby, I know. I love you to!" she said and then I herd the phone disconnect.
The cab slowed to a stop and the driver told me that we were here and it would be 30 dollars. He was a nice guy so I reached into my wallet and handed him $35 then stepped out of the car and through the sliding glass doors of the most gorgeous hotel I had ever seen. The concierge gave me a weird look, but then put on her fake smile and asked if she could help me. As I whipped out my credit card, I asked for the nicest suite they had. Dad would really freak out when he got the bill for the room. But he deserved it for everything he has done to me.
On the elevator ride up to the top floor, I called dad and left him a voice mail message to send my things to the Hilton. I walked into the room grabbed the complimentary can of peanuts and bottle of water. Plopped down on the couch and began to make a list of things I needed to tell Bella as I waited for her to arrive.
Bella's POV:
While sitting in the cab, I thought this is crazy! I never do anything spontaneous like this. Would we really be able to pull this off? I know that Charlie is gullible but is he really this stupid. I guess we'll find out.
When I got to the hotel room, Charlie was asleep. So I packed up all my things, set them by the door, and then sat down to write Charlie a letter.
Dear Dad,
I realized that I forgot some things at home. I called mom and she said that if I could get a flight home tonight that I could come home for a few days and get them. Then I could fly to forks on Sunday. I would have waited to leave for you to wake up but I decided to let you sleep since you were not feeling well. I will see you on Sunday.
Love,
Bella
I very quietly placed the letter on the pillow next to his head and softly kissed his cheek good bye. "Bye Charlie. I love you." I whispered and then grabbed my things and slipped out the door.
When I arrived at the Hilton, I walked up to the front desk and the concierge asked me if I had lost my room key. She obviously thought that Melissa and I were the same people. So I just nodded and she handed me a new key. I rode the elevator up to the final floor and unlocked the door to the most beautiful room I had ever seen. My eyes swept the room as I placed my stuff next to the table. My gaze fell upon the sleeping form of Melissa and the sight of her made me realize how tired I was. Quickly I grabbed a blanket off one of the beds and sat down next to her. I noticed a notebook which a slipped to the floor. When I reached to pick it up I noticed the writing on it:
Things to tell Bella
1.Family
2.Friends
3.Favorites: food, hobbies, color, book, etc.
4.school
5...
6...
7...
8...
9...
10...
This was going to be interesting. I placed the notebook gently on the coffee table, covered us up, and began to mentally prepare a similar list. Slowly, I drifted into a very sound sleep.
Melissa's POV:
Gradually, I began to awaken but my mind was hazy. I looked around at the unfamiliar room, and wondered where I was. I was so confused! How did I end up here? Where was I? What am I doing here? Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head. All the strange and bizarre events that happened last night came rushing back to me. But was it a dream? There was only one way to find out.
I slowly picked myself off the couch and looked around the room. Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from the bathroom. As I made my way over to the bathroom, my foot caught the edge of the couch, sending me flying through the air and onto the floor in front of the door to the bathroom. Which flew open and Bella stuck her head out.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" we both screamed at the same time. So it wasn't a dream, it all really did happen.
Bella's POV:
I looked down at the girl who was lying on the floor still amazed at how much we looked alike. So it was really real. We were really going to switch lives. I can't believe that I'm doing this.
We sat there in complete silence for about 15 minutes just staring at each other in silence. Finally, I said, "well! I'm hungry, what about you? How bout we go get something to eat and talk."
She looked up at me with wide eyes and replied, "Let's go! I'm starving! We have to get started telling each other about ourselves other wise we'll run out of time." She hopped up and ungracefully pranced into the bathroom.
About 5 minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, grabbed her purse, and walked towards the door to leave. She opened the door, turned around and shouted, "Well, are you coming!" then walked out the door. I had no choice but to follow her out the door, into the elevator, and down into the dining hall of the hotel.
"We need a table for 2, please. Oh and can we have one away from a lot of people. We are talking about business and don't want to disturb anyone." She said to the waitress. We followed the waitress as she snaked through the crowded restaurant and sat us in the very back in a rather large booth. We sat down, ordered drinks then I watched as she pulled a manila folder filled with papers and photos. "Let's get started!"
Melissa's POV:
"Let's get started!" I said once we settled ourselves in the booth, "Ok! So do you want to go first or do you want me to go first."
"Ummmmmm…, you start. I don't know where to begin. Hold on let me take notes." she said.
"Ok, where do I start…? Well, you already know my name is Melissa Anne Dawn. I am 16 years old and I live in St. Louis, MO. My mothers name is Julie and my fathers name is Tom. But you don't really have to worry about him since my parents are divorced and he recently got remarried to a woman named Suzanne. My mother remarried a man named Mark and I really love him. He is more like a father to me than my real dad is. I have one brother who is 11 and his name is Kevin. He can be really REALLY annoying! I have 2 best friends named Kaite and Elizabeth. They are so great! I have been friends with Kaite since we were a couple of months old. I am the only won who calls her Kaite, everyone else calls her Kaitlyn. We have the same birthday, January 31st. I became friends with Elizabeth when I started high school. Both Kaite and I really miss her this year because she got accepted to this really fancy private school for the sciences. She only comes back about once a month. I have two guy friends named Grant and John. Grant and I have been friends since pre-school when he let me be the pink power ranger at recess and told me he thought pink was cute on me. John is his best friend and we became friends when we started beginning band (we all play clarinet). They are going out with 2 girls who used to be my friends but we kind of grew apart. Grant is dating Alex and John is dating Jessie. What else do you want to know?" I rambled.
"Ok, what is your favorite color?" she asked.
"Ummm, Lavender"
"Favorite song?"
"Definitely, The Riddle byFive for Fighting. Have you ever heard it?"
"No, I don't really listen to a lot of music other than classical music. Maybe you can play it for me later. What about favorite movie?"
"I love the movie Freedom Writers and any Musical. Either Hairspray or Phantom of the Opera."
"Hobbies?" she inquired.
"Well, my favorite thing to do is read. I LOVE reading! I also like anything to do with music. I play clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, marimba, and hand bells. I also sing in choir and Show choir, I am a Soprano I. I also like scrapbook and dance."
"wow, this is going to be kind of a problem considering that I can't play any of those instruments or sing"
"That's ok, you can just fake it."
"oh what about class schedule?"
"Here, I wrote it out for you," I said as I handed her my class schedule. "I go to Oaktown senior high school. We are the Oaktown tigers and we have block scheduling so you go to class every other day. We also have an ANP (academic networking period) where we can visit with teachers to get help or get some homework done."
My class schedule read:
Class Schedule
"A" Days:
1st block Show Choir Mrs. Kietz Rm. 124
2ndblock College American History Mrs. Moore Rm. 318
3rd block College Algebra Mrs. Goekies Rm. 322
4th block Marching Band Mr. Metor Rm. 232
"B" Days:
5th block German 1 Mrs. Miller Rm. 231
6th block ANP Mrs. Martin Rm. 124
7th block Concert Choir Mixed Mrs. Martin Rm. 124
8th block AP English III Mr. Weib Rm. 101
"Ok, what about Favorite book and food?"
"Lets see… My favorite book is probably anything by Jane Austin or the Bronte Sisters. I love Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights. My favorite food is lima beans. I know I'm weird, but I love vegetables and I love to cook. But I really hate tomatoes, any kind and any form on pizza or pasta or ketchup."
"I don't know what else to ask? I guess I'll tell you about me and them if I think of something else I'll ask." she said.
"Ok! Shoot."
Bella's POV:
It was freaky how much we were alike and how different we were at the same time. This was going to be extremely interesting. How was I going to pull this off not only could I not sing or play the clarinet but how was I suppose to sing and dance at the same time and play clarinet and walk at the same time? I could barely walk across a flat surface without falling flat on my face much less march or dance.
"Ok, your turn shoot." she said.
"Well, My name is Isabella Swan but I like to be called Bella. I have a mom named Renee who is like my best friend. She recently got remarried to a man named Phil who plays baseball. That is why I am moving to Forks, Washington to live with my father, Charlie. I hate Forks! It is all rainy and green all the time. I don't have any siblings because my mother left Charlie after I was born because they married young and she hated Forks just as much as I do. You have it somewhat easier than I have it because I am just moving to Forks and therefore have no friends or schedule set plus Charlie does not really know me that well. I have only been to visit my dad in Forks once a year but that all stopped when I finally put my foot down when I was 12, so Charlie took our visits to different places. The only people I know in Forks are Charlie and the Black family who are dad's best friends. I love reading and cooking also. So it is a good thing you like to cook because you will probably have to take over all the cooking for Charlie. I swear I don't understand how that man has remained alive as long as he has. My Favorite book is Wuthering Heights also. I can't sing, dance, play an instrument, or scrapbook. My favorite food and color changes constantly and my song is probably Clair de Lune. Any other questions?" I rambled.
"Nope," she said as she looked up and around the restaurant. "Wow, we have been here talking a really long time. I guess we should go"
"Oh wow, It is already 4 o'clock!" I said as I began to get up and walk through the restaurant. "what should we do next?"
"let's go swimming." she said
"ok!" We spent the rest of the day swimming and talking about our likes and dislikes. We both love to swim because the water is the only place we ever feel graceful. This was going to be so much fun!
The next day we both exchanged cell phone numbers in case of emergencies, packed our bags, she gave me her glasses, took a cab to the air port, and said good bye before we went our separate ways. I stepped onto the plane to St. Louis and she stepped onto the plane to Forks. I was starting a new page in a new chapter my life. The plotline of my book was about to get much more interesting.